


A Perfect Blend

by keelywolfe



Series: by any other name [51]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Spicyhoney - Freeform, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Very small mention of veterans, papcest - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 17:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17729699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keelywolfe/pseuds/keelywolfe
Summary: A community effort requires a community. They're working on it.





	A Perfect Blend

* * *

It had taken much longer than Edge would have preferred, even with him and Antwan spending any free time they could dealing with red tape and insurance companies, architects and contractors. Months of effort and headaches, but finally all their work was bearing fruit. Barring any hitches, legal or otherwise, (and Red was dealing stringently with those sorts of issues, far from Edge’s plausible deniability) the Beanery would be opening their doors again by the end of the month.

They’d gone with an entirely new location instead of rebuilding over the old, one that was strategically closer to both the Monster community and en route to the college, allowing both of their most common clientele easy access. 

The new building had an open floor plan with large windows letting in the light and the sitting area was twice what the older building held. The walls were going to be a clean white with dark wood trim, tasteful art already chosen and waiting to be hung.

Behind a wide counter was the work area, designed with plenty of space for their more esoteric brewing equipment and that combined with the industrial lights overhead gave the shop a bit of a mad scientist effect that Edge knew the college students who had always frequented the shop were going to appreciate. 

He suspected Stretch had a hand in the design.

This was his first time in the building and Edge explored it with a jaundiced gaze, looking for any flaw, any issue that would need to be dealt with before the grand opening. Nothing had caught his attention yet, but there was still time for him to ferret out mistakes while he waited for the others to finish the task at hand.

Painting the walls was going take a little time, particularly with this group.

They could have easily paid for professionals to come in and paint the shop; they had retained plenty of local contractors for this project, out of both practicality and a way to build a relationship with other Human businesses. 

Stretch had been the one to suggest inviting the Monster community out to help with this portion of the development. Many of them had visited the shop daily and losing the Beanery had something of a ripple effect. Without their welcoming coffee shop to start the day, less and less Monsters had bothered to come into town at all, isolating themselves within New New Home. 

A lack of Monsters in the Human community meant a lack of adjustment to their presence and while Stretch never let himself be held back from visiting his favorite places, one skeleton couldn’t do it all on his own. 

“people loved the beanery and everyone who worked there,” Stretch argued to Edge when he’d absently mentioned they were looking into contracting it out, “they wanna help and you guys need to let them.”

He’d been quickly proven right; the signup sheet filled up in less than an hour. Plenty of Monsters were bereft without the Beanery and there had been little they could do to assist in rebuilding, until now. 

It was a small gesture and with the size of their group, they’d be done quickly. But the show of support would be priceless. Most of them were already hard at work, and if they lacked the skill of professionals, at least they worked with enthusiasm.

Speaking of…

“hey, babe,” Stretch said cheerily when Edge walked over to him. Normally, Edge would steal a soft kiss or a touch, but Edge was fond of his outfit so today was going to be an exception to the rule. How Stretch managed to get so much paint smeared on his clothes in such a short time, Edge would never know. Jeff was standing next to him and if he wasn’t quite as liberally decorated as Stretch, it was a close thing. “how is it looking? not bad, right?”

For all that his technique was haphazard, to put it generously, it looked acceptable enough. It was a good thing that all of the wood paneling and tables had been carefully covered before they began. 

“Your painting is better than your fundraising suggestions,” Edge said dryly. 

Stretch only snickered but Jeff raised a curious eyebrow, “Why? What was your idea?” He shifted on his paint-daubed sneakers uncomfortably, but managed to add, “And, um, I thought you guys were okay with money?”

“eh, we don’t really need the cash,” Stretch shrugged, dabbing at the wall with his brush. “but the public relations department likes to do different things, right, babe?”

“It helps build a relationship with the Human community,” Edge agreed. “However, I don’t believe a nude Monster calendar would give us the kind of exposure we’re looking for—” Edge stopped and closed his sockets, pained, as Stretch and Jeff both cracked up with laughter. 

“good one, babe,” Stretch chuckled. Absently, he scratched at his cheek bone with the back of his hand and managed to smear paint across his face. The white against bone gave him something of a ghostly appearance. “anyway, what we decided on was a joint effort between the beanery and our local monster bakery.”

“They are going to supply baked goods for them to sell and we’ll have advertisements here on how a portion of the sales go to support different non-profits in the area,” Edge agreed, trying not to think about how he was getting these two into his car. Hopefully there were a couple leftover drop cloths. “It’s mutually beneficial. That will provide good PR and awareness for everyone, the Monster community and the nonprofits.” 

“Really? Like for veterans and stuff?” Edge didn’t know the meaning behind the glance Jeff and Stretch exchanged, but he made a note of it. Much as he appreciated their close friendship and the support it gave Stretch, part of Edge sensed trouble surrounding these two like a miasma. Better to be prepared for whatever they stumbled into.

Not to the point of secreting tracking devices on them, of course, but there were certain days that Edge saw the appeal in his brother’s approach.

Instead of asking, though, he only nodded. “Oh, yes. For example, our first organization is one providing equine therapy for veterans and children with disabilities. A couple of my boys from the Y have gotten involved and it’s been a valuable resource for them.”

“That sounds like a pretty good way of doing things,” Jeff admitted. “If you ever need any help, let me know, yeah?”

“Actually, we do have an opening available in the Public Relations dep—” Edge began, only to be interrupted.

“shit,” Stretch yelped, “here, here, help!”

It was with no little frustration that Edge let go of his lost opportunity to steal Jeff from his current employment and instead watched his two stooges struggle to keep a ladder from overturning, the paint can at the top wobbling dangerously. 

He should have banned these two from ladder access before they ever got here and now it was too late. Missed opportunities abounded today, it seemed.

Trying to take it away would probably get him an argument from the both of them and Antwan hadn’t been able to come, so Edge wouldn’t have any backup. In other words, not worth the effort to fight a battle he wasn’t likely to win. 

He kept his magic at the ready, though, and two-thirds of his attention on these fools as they worked. Stretch wouldn’t be able to stay angry for long if Edge had to turn his soul blue to keep him from landing headfirst on the floor. 

His remaining attention was on the rest of the room where groups of Monsters were gathered at each wall, all of them painting amidst laughter and chatter. Monsters young and old had come, alone and with their families, and all of them eager to help. 

Edge stood back in the middle of the plastic-draped tables, watching, and only glanced to the side when he felt a presence next to him. Debbie stood there, watching. She dressed like she would have any day at the Beanery, down to her apron and her tidy ponytail. That, at least, had not changed. There was a coffee cup in her hands, wafting a gentle steam. 

They stood in silence together for a long moment, watching the hard work and laughter of the others. 

“I can’t possibly thank you enough for this,” Debbie said quietly.

“You don’t need to thank me, the Embassy—” Edge began, automatically. He broke off, startled, when she nudged him lightly in the ribs with an elbow. At her height, she had to reach up to do it. 

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to slip a thank you?” Debbie scolded lightly. Her smile was teasingly warm but there was no mistaking her gratitude, shining in her damp eyes. 

“I…suppose not,” Edge said, slowly. Red did sometimes extol the benefits of using the gratitude of others, but Edge sincerely doubted that was what she meant. “Debbie, what happened to the Beanery was not our fault but there is no getting around the fact that it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been an adamant supporter of ours.” 

Carefully, he reached over to settle a gloved hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. “You gave us a place in your world to be ourselves, you gave us normalcy when all too often, we stand outside. For what you gave us, it’s our turn to support you. I’ll accept your thank you, if you’ll accept mine, for allowing us to give you this. The Beanery was never just a coffee shop. Not to us.”

“Blast it,” Debbie let out in a watery sigh, pulling up her apron with her free hand and dabbing at her eyes. “All right, enough of that. Honestly, I came over here because I wanted to give you this.” She held up the cup in her hand. It was plain black, thick ceramic, and large enough to hold a generous serving. “It’s the first cup of coffee in our new building. Your usual.”

Oh. 

He took it from her, held the mug up in both hands and breathed in the aroma, beautiful, rich darkness. Pitch-black coffee, roasted in house, and that first sip carried with it memories that were as sweet as the coffee was delicately bitter. He rolled it over his tongue before swallowing with a heartfelt sigh. 

“It’s perfect,” Edge told her, and Debbie grinned. 

“That’s what I like to hear.” She nodded at the others, dropping her voice conspiratorially, “I’ve got drinks and pastries for everyone when they’re done, but I thought it was better not to mention the lemon bars until he was finished, or they might never get started.”

“Good choice,” Edge chuckled. He didn’t flinch when Debbie gave him a gentle pat on the back before she went back behind the counter to finish setting up equipment. His back was probably as high as she could reach without a stepstool, he thought ruefully. 

After the painting was finished, they would be bringing in carpenters to add shelves to the walls for displaying the various coffee beans and teas that the shop carried. The floor still needed tiled and there were plenty of small details to tend to yet. 

But by the end of the month, the new Beanery would be open for business. The plastic on the tables would be removed and they would be filled with people, Humans and Monsters, couples and college students as they enjoyed coffee and pastries, indulging in both treats and community. A place for Monsters to slowly work towards joining the Aboveground. 

Quite the burden to place on a coffee shop, but then, as Edge had said, it had never been just a coffee shop. Not to them.

Edge sipped his coffee peaceably, watching his family and his people laugh together as they worked, waiting for them to finish and join him.

-finis


End file.
